The judge in Derek Chauvin’s murder trial has ruled that he will not allow prosecutors with their disproving witness to provide new evidence – laboratory tests containing information on George Floyd’s carbon monoxide content.
Prosecutors, it was revealed in court, informed Chauvin’s defense that the county medical examiner had discovered lab results that spoke of Floyd’s carbon monoxide levels.
The county medical examiner told prosecutors he found these results after listening to testimony from Dr. David Fowler, a defense witness who said on Wednesday that Floyd could have suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning prior to his death. Fowler had said that Floyd’s blood should have been tested at this point.
Judge Peter Cahill has ruled that prosecutors cannot bring up these test results when calling their disproving witness, saying it was too late and would not be fair in Chauvin’s defense.
“I think Dr. Fowler’s report has provided adequate coverage [to] the state that the carbon monoxide that was in George Floyd’s blood could have influenced the cause of death, ”Cahill said of a review Fowler revealed months ago. “Basically, Dr. Fowler came right out and said it had to be tested.”
This gave prosecutors time to either test any blood samples from Floyd that may have remained, or find old lab results on the subject and turn them over to Chauvin’s defense.
“It seems very strange to me,” notes Cahill of the new discovery of these relevant results by the medical examiner. Although Cahill says he did not think prosecutors were acting in bad faith, “it is too early to give the notice and it hurt the defense due to the late disclosure.”
“It will not be allowed.”
“Dr. Tobin will not be able to testify about those lab results,” Cahill said of Dr. Martin Tobin, an expert pulmonologist who previously testified for the prosecution and is being recalled today.
“If he even hints that there are test results that the jury has not yet heard of, there will be a mistrial, pure and simple.”
Tobin, however, can testify about carbon monoxide if he “sticks to the environmental factors,” such as watching videos and giving an opinion about the likelihood of gas exposure.
Tobin’s testimony is expected to begin at 10:15 a.m. CT.